Wes tried to take it back, but she expertly snatched it away again, stepping back as her gaze traveled over the front page and silence filled the space.
“Well,” Courtney said, “I guess this meeting’s over. Call me, Wes.”
She started to stand. Rubi stepped in front of her as she turned to the second page. Then pressed a hand to Courtney’s shoulder without taking her gaze off the written words and pushed her back into her seat. “Oh no. This isn’t even close to over.”
“Rubi.” Wes stood. “We can talk about this alone.”
“Why?” She darted a look at Wes, matter-of-fact, open. “Isn’t she the one making the offer for my father? Have you had anyone look this over?”
“Not yet. I hired-”
“No need to pay anyone when there is no one more versed in my father’s contracts than me.” She waved Wes toward his seat. “Sit. Let’s just get this out of the way now.”
Rubi had never been so angry in her life. She hated her father beyond measure. She wasn’t sure what Wes was doing yet, but it didn’t matter. If her father was involved, he was always the guilty party.
She flipped through the contract, skimming the details, and choked on the licensing percentage. The sound that came from her throat was part scoff, part laugh.
“You’re taking fifty percent?” She sneered at Courtney. “Like hell.”
Rubi knew her type even if she didn’t know the woman. Her father always hired the same type.
A waitress came, and Rubi stepped aside to let her set the food down.
“Can I get you something?” she asked Rubi.
“No, thanks,” she said without taking her eyes off the contract, her tone dry. “I’m here for the entertainment.” And this contract was pure bullshit entertainment.
She turned until she found the royalty rate and exhaled heavily. This was so typical of her father-taking advantage of naivety or desperation.
She lifted her gaze to Courtney. “How do you work for a man this greedy?”
“This is business.”
Rubi shook her head on a disgusted laugh. “You’re just another parrot. Don’t you realize his unscrupulous ways will come back around on you?”
Courtney grinned, snide and superior. “Thanks for the advice.”
“Fine.” Rubi shrugged. “Don’t listen to someone with decades of experience on how the man works. But neither one of you is getting your greedy little hands on Wes’s rig. Not with a contract this fucked up.”
She turned to the back of the papers, turning to the section where special provisions, if any existed, were outlined.
Wes stood and reached for the papers. Rubi didn’t move fast enough this time, and he caught hold of the top of the contract, but she didn’t let go. Their gazes clashed.
Courtney slipped from the booth. “That would be my cue to leave.” She hitched her bag on her shoulder. “Rubi, you’re everything your father said…and more.”
Fire flashed in Rubi’s chest. She cut her gaze to Courtney’s and smiled her very best wicked smile. “You have no idea. Stay away from me and mine or I’ll show you first hand.”
Courtney’s aloof veneer cracked. She turned and walked out.
Rubi turned back to Wes. Their gazes warred for a long moment.
“What don’t you want me to see?” she asked, voice soft.
He closed his eyes. Shook his head. And let go of the contract.
He dropped into his chair, pushed his plate aside, and planted his elbows on the table, then dropped his head into his hands. “Christ, what a clusterfuck.”
Frowning, Rubi glanced down at the provisions page. The first thing that caught her eye was her own address-or her soon to be previous address. A burn started in her gut and grew as she read. Her frown deepened as her mind searched for understanding. “What…?” She lifted her gaze to look at Wes, but his head was still down. “Why…?”
He sat back and dropped his hands hopelessly in his lap. “I just… I know the house is important to you. I didn’t realize how important, didn’t realize that it meant more to you than, just, you know, a nice house, until later when I thought about why you were so upset.”
She dropped her arms, and the paper crinkled. Her stomach went light, as if it were floating. “What?”
“I know I… I screwed up at my mom’s. I know I shouldn’t have gone to Melissa’s in the middle of our argument. I didn’t think-at the time-it would seem to you like I was walking out on you, because I’d never do that. But after, when I realized you were gone, I…”
She dropped into a chair and pressed her fingers to his lips. “Don’t. Please.”
He pulled her hand away and curled his fingers around hers. “Let me finish.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “Remember when you said you’d give up everything for a family like mine?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “That’s how I feel about the rig. I’d rather have you than anything the rig could bring me. And it was the only leverage I had to get you what you so desperately needed-the stability that house gives you. That’s what’s important to me-because that’s what’s important to you.
“I knew once you felt balanced again, things with us would work out, because…because I know we were meant to be together.”
She nodded, her throat to tight to speak. Waiting a moment, she swallowed. “I believe that too. Which is why I’m here. Because I know I shouldn’t have left Missouri the way you believe you shouldn’t have left your mom’s.”
Rubi’s belly flooded with a fluttering, panicked sensation that made her nauseated, but she breathed through it and went on. “I have problems, Wes. Issues that aren’t going to go away overnight. Honestly, I don’t know that they’ll ever go away. I know I let my fears from the past rule my actions, and I know that was a mistake. A huge mistake. I don’t want those problems to keep me from you anymore.”
She lifted her head to meet his eyes. Cupped his jaw. “I love you. And I want you. If you still want to live together…it scares the shit out of me, but…if we can just take things a day at a time…I still want to try. If you don’t…I under-”
“Yes.” He kissed her. “Absolutely.” He kissed her again, longer. “Fuck, I’ve missed you.” He gripped her waist and lifted her onto his lap.
Rubi straddled him right there in the restaurant, laughing against his mouth. She pulled away and stroked his cheek, her heart fuller than it had ever been. “Can we tear up this contract?”
“Anything you want.”
“Can we look for a better contract with someone else?”
“Anything you want.”
She took a deep breath. “Can we go look at a house today that my Realtor swears is perfect for me, but look at it for us?”
A slow smile lifted his mouth. “A house for us?”
This was right. The most perfectly right thing she’d ever done.
She nodded. “A house for us.”
“Can you let me pay for half-when I get the money from this rig?”
“As long as we’re together,” she said and kissed him gently, “anything you want.”
